"A perspective from the UK, where we've had the NHS for over sixty years. It's far from perfect - bureaucratic, clunky, with examples of incompetence and waste - but it's highly valued and no politician dares to suggest we should do…"

"I understand your liking for the quietness of a church; I enjoy them despite being an atheist. They can also be appreciated as repositories of local history. In the UK we have a lot of village churches that go back hundreds of years, and they often…"

"I have spoken at length on this site of the rise of Orthodoxy in Russia. It is no secret that the Orthodox Church is pro-Romanov Dynasty as was instrumental in the families current state of adoration by the faithful. The Romonov's are of the…"

I just listened to a Radio 4 documentary on the increasingly tight relationship between the Putin government and hardliners in the Russian Orthodox Church. It revolves around the Pussy Riot case but highlights a trend in Russian society that is extremely scary.A series of religious figures and politicians declare that any criticism of the church threatens Russian society and amounts to a crime and deserves some serious punishment. It all…See More

"There's a fine line between being outspoken and intimidating others who don't agree with you. I'm afraid that if you used the word 'stupid' it did you push over that line. Although I'd be inclined to give you the…"

Should we ever applaud a church leader making a political statement?I ask because of reports in the UK that the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, is ready to slam the government's Big Society programme, saying it will be an excuse to cut state support for the vulnerable. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/23/rowan-williams-big-society-cameronLike most liberals I'm inclined to give…See More

"I think the 'tensions' in this game were exaggerated by parts of the media. It was generally good tempered and, probably because everyone expected the Germans to win, the Greeks went down their dignity and pride in tact.
If you want to see…"

"Why should we regard zombies as a threat? Is there a possibility that we could find plenty of good zombies? Popular culture seems to have got used to the idea of good vampires and werewolves (well, at least if you watch True Blood), and it…"

Mark Say's Blog

I just listened to a Radio 4 documentary on the increasingly tight relationship between the Putin government and hardliners in the Russian Orthodox Church. It revolves around the Pussy Riot case but highlights a trend in Russian society that is extremely scary.

A series of religious figures and politicians declare that any criticism of the church threatens Russian society and amounts to a crime and deserves some serious…